Stress Free Moving Comes from Great Packing

Posted on by agentinsure

How items are packed determines if they will make it safely through a move and arrive undamaged at the new location. Many like to save money by packing their own things, instead of paying others to do the packing. Be aware that when the items are self-packed, a professional moving company will not take responsibility for any damage to goods, which occurs during the moving process, caused by bad packing of the items.

For those doing self-packing, here are a few packing tips that reduce the stress of a move and the chances of damage when moving:

  • Before the move, do a clutter purge. Get rid of any unneeded items. Throw out expired medicines. Give away or have a yard sale for items that did not see any use for the past year. Reduce refrigerated food to a minimum.
  • Before starting the packing process, have plenty of packing supplies, which includes free boxes collected in advance from stores in the neighborhood, wide markers, colored duct tape, scissors, old newspapers, and a notebook for recording the inventory.
  • It is important to pack a “first night” box to open first in the new location. Put all the items that are critical for a normal daily routine in this box. This helps tremendously while unpacking the other boxes and when putting stuff away.
  • Use softer items, such as towels, sheets, clothes, socks, etc. as packing materials to protect fragile items like glassware.
  • Pack books, which are very heavy, in small boxes.
  • Color code boxes with the colored duct tape, using one-color for each room. Number the boxes and label them with the pen, using a general description of the contents. Write the numbers and detailed descriptions in the inventory notebook. This helps to find things later.

One other important thing is to get homeowner’s or renter’s insurance for the new location and cancel the coverage of the old location after the move is complete. Check with the agents at Jim Boyce Insurance by using the website to get a quote for home insurance or a renter’s insurance policy.